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Report: Great Lakes cleanup lagging badly

A federal report says the government is moving so slowly to
clean up the most polluted sites in the Great Lakes that it will
take 77 more years to finish the job at the current pace.

The inspector general's office with the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency released the report this week.

It deals with 31 so-called "areas of concern," which are river
bottoms, harbors and other spots where sediments are heavily
contaminated with toxic chemicals. One of those areas is where the St. Louis River empties into Duluth harbor.

The report estimates it will
cost more than $2 billion to finish the cleanup.

It calls on EPA to establish a plan with clear lines of
authority and accountability for each site.

The report says the agency has agreed to develop a limited
management plan but hasn't gone far enough.